Final month to have your say on UK HPR1000 nuclear technology

COMMENT PROCESS ON REACTOR TECHNOLOGY PROPOSED FOR BRADWELL B ENDS SEPTEMBER 2021

After nearly four years, just one month remains for members of the public to comment on the reactor design and regulatory submissions on the UK HPR1000 reactor technology.

CGN and EDF, through their joint venture company General Nuclear System Limited, initiated the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process of the reactor in January 2017. The public comment process, allowing people to provide feedback on the developing design, opened in November 2017 and is due to close on Friday 17 September 2021.

Since the comment process began a range of feedback has been received including technical questions, questions about safety and planning for climate change.

During the four step GDA process, the UK’s regulators, the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency, provide rigorous, independent scrutiny to ensure that new nuclear power station designs proposed for the UK meet high standards of safety, security, and environmental protection.

The GDA is on schedule to complete in early 2022 and, if successful, a Design Acceptance Confirmation (DAC) and Statement of Design Acceptability (SoDA) will be issued from the ONR and EA respectively.

Minhong Zhu, Managing Director of General Nuclear System Limited, said: “I encourage everyone to continue to engage with the GDA in this final month.  Whether you’ve commented before or not, you still have the opportunity to look at our documents on our website and feedback.

“The end of the comment process marks the culmination of many thousands of hours of hard work. It also brings closer the possibility of deploying a new reactor design in the UK that could play a major role in supporting the Government’s target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.”

GDA is separate, but complimentary, to applications to build nuclear power stations at specific sites such as Bradwell. In order to build a nuclear power station at a specific location, the site’s individual conditions need to be taken into account, meaning that a range of site specific consents are required, including development consent, site licensing and environmental permits.  These consents for Bradwell B will require separate and in-depth public engagement and consultation over the coming years.

The GDA comment process runs until 17 September 2021. Comments can be made via the UK HPR1000 website www.ukhpr1000.co.uk.

To find out more about all the different consents and permissions related to building a new nuclear power station at Bradwell B, see the consents and permits webpage.